Jon Snow
Jon Snow is the bastard son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, the late Prince of Dragonstone. From infancy, Jon was presented as the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark, Lyanna's brother, and raised by Eddard alongside his lawful children of House Stark at Winterfell, but his true parentage was kept a secret from everyone, including Jon himself, in order to protect him from those that sought the complete annihilation of House Targaryen after Robert's Rebellion and to maintain order in the realm. In order to escape the social stigma of his bastard status, Jon joined the Night's Watch, eventually becoming Lord Commander. Biography Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9 Season 10 Personality Because he was raised by Ned Stark at Winterfell, Jon has adopted a clear moral compass and a true sense of honor, which he tries his hardest to abide by even when he must make a difficult decision, especially after he became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. He has always admired and idolized his 'father', but due to Catelyn Stark's cold disdain for Jon, Eddard was careful not to give him more attention than his lawful children by Catelyn. Lady Stark was never actively mean to Jon, but because he wasn't her own son she intentionally ignored him (as is common for bastard children), meaning that Jon grew up without a mother-figure. Nor did Jon consider Catelyn's behavior to be unusual or unexpected: it is rare for a noble to raise their bastard child alongside their lawful children, and his presence was a great insult to her honor. While his interactions with Catelyn remained awkward or nonexistent, he actually became good friends with his half-siblings, particularly Robb and Arya. Robb was of the same age as Jon so they became playmates and comrades in training, while due to her tomboyish personality Arya was also something of a social misfit like Jon, which they bonded over. Like many bastard children, Jon had to learn to grow up quickly. This made Jon mature and perceptive beyond his age, so he could navigate his complicated relationships within the Stark household. His bastard status has also made Jon something of a loner, solemn and somber with a desire to prove himself to society and to his father. Jon thought that the best way for a bastard in his position to gain honor and respect was to join the Night's Watch, emulating his uncle Benjen, because past social status is ignored after joining the Watch. Despite his introverted demeanor, Jon is very compassionate and protective of his fellow outcasts such as Samwell Tarly, Grenn, and Pyp. In many ways, Jon has been unusually lucky for a bastard child, given how rare it is for a lord to raise one in his own castle alongside his lawful children. For all of Jon's misgivings about not knowing his mother and Catelyn ignoring and shunning him, he was loved by his father and siblings, was never poor or hungry, but lived in a castle and had a noble's upbringing. Jon was formally educated by Maester Luwin and was trained in combat by Ser Rodrik Cassel, excelling at swordsmanship. This made Jon somewhat arrogant when he was a new recruit at Castle Black, until Tyrion pointed out that the other recruits were all far less fortunate than he was. This humbles Jon, and he changes his behavior to be the champion of the other downtrodden recruits, and helps train them by walking them through the swordplay techniques he knows. Jon is also fairly shy around women, and as he revealed to Samwell, he was a virgin when he joined the Night's Watch. While he was attractive enough, as a bastard son with nothing to inherit he had no realistic marriage prospects with noblewomen. Jon was even wary of having sex with random girls or prostitutes (as Theon did), because he was terrified of fathering a bastard of his own: having lived his life as a bastard up until that point, he felt that it wasn't a life another child should have to go through. The Starks were an interfaith household, with Eddard and Catelyn's children being exposed to not only the religion of the Old Gods of the Forest worshiped by most Northmen, but also Catelyn's devout adherence to the Faith of the Seven. Because Jon had no real interaction with Catelyn, and revered his father Eddard, he was not exposed to the Seven but proudly keeps to the Old Gods, and honors the traditions of his First Men ancestors. When Jon took his vow to become a member of the Night's Watch, he chose to do so in front of a heart tree, sacred to the Old Gods. After becoming Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon applied his fathers teaching that "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword", when executing Lord Janos Slynt for disobeying his orders.Category:Northmen Category:Living individuals Category:Members of House Stark Category:Bastards Category:Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters